Rotary sprinklers of the impact type are well known in the art and in the patent literature. An exemplary sprinkler of this type is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,460, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.
A rotatable sprinkler having a deflector which is designed to minimize backsplash is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,012 which discloses a Z or S shape deflector.
Another rotatable sprinkler having a deflector which is designed to minimize backsplash is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,762 to Cassimatis et al. According to the teaching of this patent, the deflector includes three water deflecting surfaces which receive and redirect water from the jet in a smooth, substantially turbulent free manner. The water is first redirected along a first straight path at least approximately 90 degrees from the axis of the jet. It is then redirected along a second path at an acute angle with and in front of the first path and thereafter it is redirected along a third path which is approximately parallel with the axis of the issuing jet.
Another type of anti-side splash deflector is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,494 to Wichman et al. According to the teaching of this patent, the deflector comprises a reaction member which includes a first curved portion for deflecting a stream of water ejected from a nozzle on the sprinkler through a first obtuse angle, and a second curved portion, spaced laterally from and behind the first curved portion, for deflecting the stream of water through a second obtuse angle approximately equal to the first whereby the deflected water stream emerges substantially parallel to the stream of water ejected from the nozzle, the second angle being reversed with respect to the first obtuse angle and each being of at least about 120 degrees.
All of the above prior art sprinklers deflect the water stream as it comes out of the nozzle in the plane of rotation of the sprinkler head. Thus proper alignment of the deflector and complete seating of the deflector in its extreme rotation position at which the deflector lies in front of the nozzle is required to attain the desired deflection.